Zen's Field Notes
by Zero Starlight
Summary: Recovered from the deepest areas of Cradle, these logs detail one Knight's trials in search of the last thing that holds value to him, and he will stop at nothing to get it.
1. Log 1 Ground Zero

Zen's Field Notes

By; Zero_Starlight

Log 1; Ground Zero

Ironically, it's those first few minutes after landing that have really stuck with me this entire time.

I suppose in a way, I was lucky, really. Most Knights ejected in the escape pods and ended up strewn all over the world like so much scrap metal, while I ended up sprawled on the somewhat soft soil that has grown to become the Hub, listening to the sounds of the machine beneath me, in tune with my own mechanical soul. Sure, I was one of the few who remained on board, riding the Skylark down to a quick end, doing everything we could to repair the damage the poor girl had taken.

Doesn't make the looks the other Knights give me any less painful.

I had come to visit Ground Zero again. I knew it was pointless, I had searched the entirety of the place for any hints as to where She had been taken, but I had returned there every day for five years, and it gave me a small measure of stability in my life.

I knelt before the large tombstone, etched with the names of the hundreds of Knights who had not survived. Her name was on this list, but I disregarded it. I knew She was still alive.

I had watched, trapped beneath a sheet of metal that had torn off of the Skylark on impact, as the void itself pulled Her deep into the machine that was this planet.

"Hey!" A voice called, interrupting my thoughts. I looked up, the familiar feeling of anger coming to a boil as I recognized the Knight running up to me. I knelt at the tombstone, placing a few shards of extra gold crystal before it, giving my thanks for those who had made the ultimate sacrifice, before standing to face the other Knight, my Nightblade 'Twilit' planted firmly in the ground.

"What do you want, Ray." I said, though I didn't really give a damn as to what anyone wanted.

Ray was a relatively new Knight, and I didn't like him. The kid was a punk, he had no respect for anyone, not even for the Knights who fought there way deep into the clockworks in search of a new power source for the Skylark.

"Wasting crystals on that stupid tombstone again?" Ray asked, "Shouldn't you be at the Hub breaking something?"

"Ray, you do not want to test me today. Now back off." I replied, gripping the hilt of my sword tightly, the strip of fabric blowing in the wind.

"And what if I don't?" Ray replied.

I looked at him for a moment, "Then I suppose you've played your hand."

I pulled my sword from the ground, holding it behind my back as I ran at him, faster than he could have anticipated. I swung the sword into the air.

"Here's mine."

I brought it down in an arcing motion, the blunt edge of the blade tossing him away. He hit the ground, his momentum bouncing him further, again, again, before coming to a rest in the dirt.

I walked up beside him and raised my blade again, stabbing it into the soil beside his head.

"Bother me again, and I won't play nice." I informed him, pulling my blade, and a chunk of soil, from the ground, sheathing it.

Now, looking back, I was a bit harsh on the kid. Sure, he was an ass and all, but aren't all kids his age? At the time though, I had places to be, and I wasn't in the mood for his crap.

I had to find my wife, after all.

The Hub was bustling as usual, hundreds of Knights chatting, bartering, the usual fare. The atmosphere was light and happy.

Well, until I walked through. I had gained a reputation as being an outcast, someone who didn't get along with others, and Knights tended to back off when I came through.

I walked into the arcade, activating the tower I had been adding crystals to, and stepped onto the elevator, not bothering to invite anyone to join me, not that they would accept anyway.

"Where you going Zenny?" A cat-like voice called, and I groaned, stabbing at the down button on the elevator in the hopes that the thing would send me deep into the bowls of Cradle, and away from that obnoxious girl.

Unfortunately, it seems that I wasn't going to be that lucky, as before I knew it, balancing cat-like on the safety rail of the elevator, was Kit, or as everyone was fond of calling her, "Cat Girl".

I just called her a pain in the ass.

"Can you get off the elevator Kit? I've got important things to do and I don't fancy having to drag you along for the ride." I pleaded, hoping that asking nicely would make her change her current plan of action.

I was destined for dissapointment it seems.

"Nya... No, I think I'll stay and help you out!" Kit replied, smiling as the elevator began to descend.

"Kit... I'm asking you nicely. Get off the damn elevator or so help me-" I said, cut off by screech of broken brakes, followed by the ground beneath my feet dropping.


	2. Log 2 Kit in the Cradle

Log 2; Kit in the Cradle

You know, I'm surprised. When Knights started using the elevators to travel deep into Cradle, I was expecting them to break from long periods of exposure to the elements. But whatever those things are built with, it's tough.

But whoever rigged the elevator me and Kit were on... They were tougher.

Much tougher...

I don't know how long I was out for, but when I woke, millions of white hot pinpricks stabbed into my head, and I groaned.

"Zen...?" Kit's voice echoed, weak and edged with pain. I grunted, slowly forcing my way out of the pile of rubble, scanning for signs of life.

The two indented bars that the elevator had been moving on were twisted and broken, leaving sharp, razor tipped spikes hanging from the roof. The elevator itself had smashed halfway through the floor, a heavy boulder had crushed the armory, and the barrier had been obliterated, a chasm that dropped into blackness all that remained. Like it or not, Kit was under my protection now, and I wasn't about to leave her for dead.

"Kit?" I called back, coughing, "Kit, are you OK?"

"O-over here!" She called back, her voice weak. Using my sword as leverage, I carefully moved a boulder away, revealing Kit. Her arm was crushed, the other half of the elevator bar pinning it down.

"Zen... it hurts... nya..." She moaned, the lights of her eyes flickering weakly. She was in a bad way. I had seen worse, but there was always medical equipment around at those times. Right now, even a injury like this could be life threatening.

"Crap..." I muttered under my breath, "This is going to hurt Kit." I lifted my sword, set my stance, and sent the blade arcing down, severing the weakest connecting area of Kit's arm. She screamed, blood pouring from the wound.

I pulled a supply kit from my bag, retrieving a bandage and wrapping it tightly around, the flow of blood slowing, stopping, until all that covered the missing appendage was pure white fabric.

Kit whimpered, weakly looking at the stump where her arm used to be.

"I'm sorry Kit. It was the only way. Once we get topside, I'll pay for a prosthetic." I said, "You deserve that much." I held out a hand, helping her up slowly. She moaned again, barely able to stand.

"Where... are we?" Kit asked, wobbling for a moment as she tried to balance herself. I steadied her, and she gave me a weak nod in appreciation.

I looked into the darkness, other hand wrapped around the hilt of my blade, a black miasma emitting from it like smoke. "Twilit is reacting... Wherever we are... We need to go. Now."

Kit was... Special, I suppose. She had stuck around even after everyone else had long since moved on, had chased after me, pestering me to no end. For all the crap I gave her, I was truly thankful that she had stuck around.

One might say she was the sister I never had.

But I'm tainted, damaged goods, I suppose. Kit was in danger, and wether or not she had brought it upon herself, it didn't matter.

I was her only hope.

"Dammit!" I yelled, punching my gloved fist through the useless monitor, shattering the glass.

"Zen? What's wrong?" Kit asked faintly, and I looked over, shocked yet again at how weak the lights of her eyes had grown.

"Nothings working Kit." I said as I looked at the bandages again. They were stained through with her life-blood.

"Zen?" Kit began, and I could tell from her tone what she was about to ask.

"I'm going to die... aren't I?"

When Kit said that, I felt rage come to a boil again in my stomach, rage at Kit, rage at the other Knights who would, if I ever made it out of here alive, belittle and insult me for not bringing her back safe and sound.

But most of all? I was angry with myself. I had made the decision to remove Kit's arm, gambling that we would be able to return to Haven before she bled out, rather than risk ambush at the elevator's ruins while I attempted to pry her arm from beneath it.

I had gambled, lost, and now Kit was going to pay for it.

Damaged goods, remember?


End file.
